Hunt is on for new high flier at BA

British Airways has started planning in earnest the succession to its highly rated chief executive, Rod Eddington, with the emergence of a shortlist of senior airline executives and internal high fliers.

High on the list are Tony Tyler, chief operating officer at Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong-based airline where Eddington used to work; James Hogan, a former BMI executive who now runs Gulf Air; and Willie Walsh, the respected former head of Aer Lingus who resigned last year after a row with the Irish government over the future of the country's carrier.

The internal candidates are headed by marketing director Martin George and John Rishton, the finance director. There has been speculation that Barbara Cassani, the former head of BA's low-cost offshoot Go, would make a return to the airline as its boss, but this was dismissed by company sources.

It is also possible that the company may go outside the aviation industry altogether and appoint a heavyweight FTSE 100 figure from a customer service background to take over while internal candidates are groomed.

The search is being headed by chairman Martin Broughton, the former chief executive of British American Tobacco, who wants a successor in by the end of the year, if possible.

One industry source said: 'There is a line of thinking that someone from outside the industry would be a good idea, but with a chairman from outside, you would probably want an aviation CEO.'

The emergence of a shortlist follows discreet canvassing by Broughton, with the aid of Eddington himself.

Commenting on the candidates, one BA source said: 'Hogan is not a shoo-in, but he is on the shortlist.' He added: 'Rod knows Tyler from his Cathay Pacific days, and he is well regarded.'

Whoever takes over from Eddington - who may step down this year - will have a hard act to follow. The Aus tralian has had one crisis after another - from the Concorde disaster, through the travel slump that followed the atrocities of 9/11, the Sars epidemic, and increasing competition from the low-cost sector, to damaging strikes that caused problems at Heathrow airport in consecutive summers.

However, his 'Future Size and Shape' restructuring plan for the business, in which the route network was overhauled, internet booking boosted, and 13,000 jobs cut, was considered a success despite the strikes, and last month he was voted the best FTSE chief executive in a survey of media reporting over the past year.

This week he heads his valedictory investor day at BA headquarters, Waterside, near Heathrow, where he will emphasise the importance of that airport's new Terminal 5, the need to continue vigilance on costs - aiming to cut £300 million this year - and the airline's plans to 'invest in people' and new products.